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On Saturday, March 30, Mentored Youth Trout Day in Pennsylvania will be held.
This event was created several years ago to provide an opportunity for an adult mentor to introduce a young person to trout fishing without being subjected to the crowded atmosphere that often occurs on some waters on a typical opening day. Following are some of the requirements and proceures for the program.
All stocked trout waters in Pennsylvania are included in the program, and fishing hours will be from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Any young angler under the age of 16 is eligible to participate in the program, but must be accompanied by an angler 16 years of age or older who possesses a valid Pennsylvania fishing license and a trout/salmon permit. The youth angler must have either a Mentored Youth Fishing Permit or Voluntary Youth Fishing License. The Mentored Youth Fishing Permit is free, and the Voluntary Youth Fishing License costs $2.97. Either of these can be obtained at any fishing license issuing agent or online at huntfish.pa.gov. You need to furnish the child's address, social security number, date of birth, height and eye color to get the permit.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission encourages adult mentors to respect the spirit of the event with a few helpful guidelines. The opportunity is not intended as a chance for several adult mentors to accompany one child in order to get an early start on trout season. The PFBC also discourages youth organizations from using the day as an opportunity to get a large group of youth fishing, with minimal adult supervision. The ideal situation is a one-on-one between the mentor and the youth, but the adult mentor is permitted to oversee more than one young person.
Young anglers should be capable of fishing on their own, with limited assistance from the mentor. A mentor should be within a reasonable distance of the young person when the youth is actively fishing. Six feet is recommended. Both the young angler and their mentor are permitted to fish on the youth day, but only the young angler is permitted to keep two trout seven inches or longer.
The first year or two that the event was held adult mentors were also permitted to keep two trout that day if they wished. I recall many older anglers complaining about that point. Most didn't mind allowing the kids to keep a couple of fish on youth day, but they didn't like the adults helping the youngsters to have the same privilege. Apparently, enough of those folks complained to the right folks and adults are no longer permitted to creel any trout on the day.
Of course, all other general fishing regulations apply during the day. Additional information about the program is available on the PFBC website, FishandBoat.com or on page 21 in the 2024 Pennsylvania Summary of Fishing handbook that comes with your fishing license.
Having many years of experience as a trained volunteer fishing instructor for both kids and adults, I've had the privilege of introducing novice anglers of all ages to the wonderful sport of fishing. One of the most important tips I would pass on to anyone looking to mentor a budding angler is to keep it fun. This is especially true with kids, many of whom can have notoriously short attention spans, and the younger the child, the shorter amount of time they are likely to stay focused on any activity.
If possible, have a short practice session with your youngster before the actual day on the water. Set up some targets and do a little casting practice in the backyard with the equipment they will be using. For older kids, show them how to tie a couple of basic knots and how to rig whatever baits or lure you will be using on youth day. These preliminaries will build interest and involvement for the fishing day and allow you to spend more time fishing together.
This might sound overly obvious, but one of the best ways to keep a young angler interested is to catch something. Since you shouldn't have to contend with the usual opening day crowds, finding a spot or two that will produce some fish should not be too difficult.
Not every kid will be super excited about going fishing for the first time, especially if the weather isn't the best. Don't prolong the day once they begin to lose interest. Call it a day and try again later.